A - Z Beginner Full Guide Start Here!

written by Fidcal

Introduction

This is an easy guide for complete beginners to lead you from start to finish, 'push that button, click that menu' and at the end you will have a fully working (but tiny) Dark Mod mission with all the main essential features including objectives all zipped up. You will be able to include variations of your own as you progress if you wish. Links to more detailed info is be included but ignore those first time if you wish. Creating this mission is a learning process: although others will be able to play it, it will be too simple for that purpose - though it might be fun to see how varied the results might be from different players following the same instructions! When finished you can modify it and customise it to learn more or just shelve it for reference while you start your real mission!

This tutorial was inspired by Komag's famous T2 tutorial which helped a great many Dromeders (including myself) to get started producing Thief 2 FMs. If you are or were a Dromeder then you might first like to browse quickly through Dromed - Dark Mod Differences before proceeding - though it is not essential for this tutorial as I am trying to make few assumptions of prior knowledge. It will refer to default keys/mouse settings in DR so if you have changed any hot keys in DR's help menu then keep that in mind.

Installation

To be added nearer launch (if needed at all in this tutorial.)

Meanwhile, betamappers should refer to the private Dark Mod forums.

The Dark Mod Editor

To edit Dark Mod missions you will need a game editor. This tutorial is based on the Dark Radiant editor but you can possibly follow most of it in other editors like DoomEd. Variations might be shown where possible but it will mainly assume Dark Radiant. If you haven't got Dark Radiant yet, consult the Dark Radiant sections, install it and set it up how you like it. If you want to use DoomEd then you need to look elsewhere first. DoomEd of course is supplied with Doom.

You might wish to open the DR Controls page in a new window in your web browser for quick reference while following this tutorial. I'll try to make it so you don't need to!

Make sure you can run Dark Mod and your editor before proceeding.

Your First Mission

Let's get started.

• Open Dark Radiant (hereinafter DR) and also open Dark Mod for quick testing.
• If you have a mission already open in DR then select File menu > New Map to clear it.
• Save it now as any suitable name. You might prefer to save later but I always do it immediately. All missions must go (with exceptions I won't discuss here) in the darkmod\maps folder or a folder within that. I urge you to create a new folder for each project within that maps folder. In this case:

1. Open File Menu > Save As
2. Make sure you are in the 'maps' folder.
3. Select 'Create Folder' and type in say 'tutorial'. You might prefer 'Tut' or even 'T' because you have to keep typing it over and over in the Dark Mod console when testing!
4. Select that folder
5. Enter the name of your mission at the top. If you have a dedicated folder why not just use a number for the name and name it fully when published? You will be frequently re-saving with new names (see also autosave in DR's Edit menu > Preferences) and then typing in the path in the Dark Mod console and if you're lazy like me why keep typing deathsheadmanor/deathsheadmanor99 over and over when you can type T/99 or say T/T99 ? Your call.

• The game will be saved as a 'map' file with a .map suffix and is commonly called a 'map' in Doom circles. But I will use the term 'mission' or 'FM' (Fan Mission) or maybe 'game' for the map file to try to avoid confusion with actual 'city' or 'treasure' maps within the mission.

Making Your First Room

When you open Dark Radiant it will default to a grid size (in the XYZ orthoview) of 8 units by 8. These units are 1.1 inches. Check your preference (default key P) in DR as it will be easier during this tutorial if you have the following checked (ticked) in Preferences > Orthoview...

• Show Grid
• Show Size Info
• Show Coordinates

We'll mostly be working in the XYZ grid orthoview but if you have room for the camera view at the side so much the better. The camera view does a rough render in 3D (F3 toggles a better rendering with lighting etc but keep that off if it slows things down which it is likely to and just use it now and again.)

• Note the origin icon of the 'world' at 0,0,0 in the grid view
• Zoom in and out with the mouse wheel
• Right mouse drag the grid view to scroll around (zoom out further to scroll around faster)

• UseCtrl+Tab to rotate from top, front, and side views (or you might have three windows open from the view menu)

• Select the top view in the grid view.
• Left mouse drag out a rectangle any few grid units across in the middle somewhere.
• This rectangle is called a 'brush' and used to define raw shapes for walls, floors etc.
• Left drag within that brush to drag the brush around
• left drag outside that brush to resize it.

• left drag outside that brush to resize it to 256 across left to right (X direction) by 192 up and down (Y direction in top view.) You should see those dimensions at the sides of the rectangle if you have 'Show Size Info' set in Edit > Preferences > Orthoview. The position of the top left corner is in brackets at top left.
• Left drag within the brush to move it so its sides fit on the bigger grid. If all sides don't fit then check your dimensions and that you are still in grid size 8 (see grid menu.)
• I prefer to build up in the top right corner from the world 0,0,0 so none of the values are negatives but you decide for yourself. Move it where you want but ideally so the sides are on the big grid.

• Ctrl + Tab to side or front view and left drag outside the brush to change its height to 128
• Left drag inside the brush to move it up and down so its sides are on a big grid same as you did in the top view.
• You should now have brush 256 x 192 x 128 (see Unit Tips

TEXTURE ROOM IT

intro to entities, brushes, patches, visportals sealing, leaks etc. link to performance wiki

Adding the Player's Start Point

Right click on any 2d window in the editor, and choose "Create Player Start here". This will create the playerstart entity (red box) and put it at the location you clicked. Drag the entity around to the point where you want the player to be spawned.

Alternatively, right-click any 2D window, select create entity. There are two folders, darkmod and base. Open base.

Type info and it should bring up info_player_start, now hit the Add button. A large red box about the size of the player should appear in your map. It has an arrow that points the direction it faces. This is the Players Start Point.

~tagged Baddcog

Adding Light

one ordinary light plus one ambient

Adding Objects, AI

To add an object right-click on any 2d window (preferably where you want the object to appear). Objects can be static or entity. Select Create Model to create static objects or Create Entity for entity objects. Both types can be viewed in the model viewer (need link).

Sometimes a combination of static and entity objects can be an easy way to make an animated object.

Static objects are models that won't move in game. Furniture, pillars, plants, ect... A candle stick could be a static and get knocked over. The player can't frob them though.

Entity objects are more complex. They use the same models as the statics but properties can be applied through a def file. These properties can range from frobbing to animation and particle attachments. Loot has properties that make it unique so it will be found in the entity inspector (L) under atdm/loot/ atdm:loot_amulet (for example).

Entity types are:

Moveables which are items the player can interact with. They can be frobbed, picked up, rotated, thrown. They could also be a door knob (frobbable) or a rotating gear (non-frob). atdm:item_book_red1

Animated objects have been animated in a 3d program such as Blender, Lightwave or 3dsMax. They could be a non-moving machine that is animated so it's pistons and gears move or they could be an AI.

AI of course refers to characters in the game. Taffers, maidens, servants, rats,... the list goes on. Most human AI will not have a head in the editor, one is attached via def files and will be spawned when the game starts. This allows use of many heads on each body. darkmod/AI/Builder, ect...

Entities can have physics models (ragdolls) such as a bucket with a handle. These are under atdm:env_bucket... Ropes are here. AI's corpses have ragdolls so you can drag them by an arm or leg, ect...

~tagged Baddcog

Inventory, Tools, Weapons, Shop

Compass

doors

link to doors wiki

Zipping up

link to zip up wiki

Your own Build Design

link to build design wiki